PETALING JAYA: When caught up with the excitement of planning a holiday or a long-awaited trip, purchasing travel insurance is often overlooked as many don’t expect the unfortunate to happen during what is supposed to be a happy time.
However, protecting yourself or having a backup plan while on holiday is always a smart move.
Take Annie (not her real name) for example. She had to postpone a trip to London due to the Covid-19 pandemic and when she finally did make it to the big city, she had a fall and injured her left knee.
Annie said the stress of not knowing what to do coupled with the excruciating pain caused her to panic.
“I managed to visit a hospital in London and saw an orthopaedic surgeon who provided me with medication to ease the pain. Once I was back in Kuala Lumpur, I had follow-up treatments, and thankfully my knee is so much better now,” she said.
Her total medical bill was RM7,500, which she claimed from the Tune Protect Travel Insurance she purchased, and was very glad she did.
“The cost for the medical treatment was not small, and higher than my actual flight ticket to London. It’s a wise decision to buy travel insurance especially when going overseas. You never know what could happen,” Annie said.
Meanwhile, another traveller, Benjamin (not his real name), benefited from a flight delay because he had insurance coverage. He had plans to fly to Bangkok and discovered only upon arrival at the airport that his flight would be delayed for 24 hours.
While caught off-guard by this disruption to his plans, he and his friends were able to board a rescheduled flight and land safely at their destination.
“Luckily Tune Protect reimbursed us for the delay and I received RM800. The claims process was smooth and easy as all I had to do was produce the necessary documentation.”
“Looking back, it was definitely a good decision to purchase travel insurance despite me wanting to save costs due to inflation and a better holiday package.
“But the amount I received back compared to what I actually paid for was worth it. I would definitely continue to purchase travel insurance especially during these times when Covid-19 is still rampant and flights can be delayed for any reason,” he said.
Tune Protect Malaysia chief executive officer Jubin Mehta concurred, saying the pandemic has caused a shift in mindset as travellers now realise that travel insurance is a critical component due to the fluidity of the entire travel value chain.
“Though we are already in the endemic stage, the fact of the matter is that Covid-19 is still around, and the value of travel protection increases as travellers want to ensure peace of mind when traveling.
“Travellers also face other challenges such as flight delays and lost baggage which can alter their plans. Without travel protection, the losses may be too great for them to afford,” he said.
According to Jubin, Tune Protect is an agile organisation with a strong tech background supported by in-house tech platforms capable of powering a host of product lines.
“As an insurer, we offer a one-stop solution that most conventional players don’t. We differentiate ourselves by simplifying products and the customer experience, and offering bite-sized insurance coverage at affordable premiums to target Millennials and Gen-Zs.
Jubin added that Tune Protect offers a host of health, lifestyle and SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) products to the local market. All its products are accessible from its website and mobile app.
“Given that we are one of the smaller players in the Malaysian market, we stand considerably well in the overall personal insurance (PA) segment.
“Based on the latest data by Insurance Services Malaysia (ISM), we ranked seventh out of 21 General Insurance companies in Malaysia. Additionally, according to research findings by iBanding, our online Travel product, Travel Insurance Malaysia for Everyone – Tune Protect Travel Easycame in second in the best travel insurance in Malaysia segment, which further reinforces our standing in the PA segment in Malaysia,” he said.
Jubin also said the company provides extensive Covid-19 coverage for travellers, including medical expenses, quarantine, trip curtailment and other unexpected scenarios.
“These benefits cover medical expenses of up to RM250,000 for an individual and RM750,000 for a family. In addition, it provides hospital income of RM350 per day for Covid-19 hospitalisation, trip cancellation and curtailment due to Covid-19, emergency overseas evacuation and repatriation and more.”
Meanwhile, Jubin said the company is currently in its most exciting phase as the team continues to create and innovate more exciting products for different segments of the market
“People can look forward to more affordable and easily accessible insurance solutions in the market soon. This will include a health product scheduled to be launched in the middle of the third quarter. There are others in the pipeline too,” he concluded.
For more information, head over to Travel Insurance Malaysia for Everyone – Tune Protect Travel Easy.